$225 Million? Seattle’s Pursuit of Cano Could Be Too Rich for Yanks

Even as the Yankees’ highest-ranking executives gathered at Yankee Stadium on Thursday to introduce Brian McCann, their newly signed catcher, the bulk of the questions posed to them were about Robinson Cano.

Yes, the Yankees had committed $238 million to McCann and Jacoby Ellsbury, but how much more would they be willing to give to Cano, and were they prepared to see him sign elsewhere, perhaps in Seattle?

The Mariners have intensified their pursuit of Cano, inviting him to Seattle for direct talks Thursday and preparing to offer him a deal worth about $25 million a year for nine years ($225 million over all), according to a person who had been informed of the Mariners’ plans but who asked for anonymity because he was not permitted to speak publicly on the matter.

If that is the case, the Yankees have indicated they will not match the offer and will instead seek other players to replace Cano, perhaps the free agents Shin-Soo Choo, Omar Infante or Stephen Drew. They could also seek a top hitter through a trade.

The Yankees have offered Cano a contract in the range of $170 million for seven years, and would consider increasing it to $175 million, but it is doubtful they would consider going over $200 million. The ultimate decision on an expenditure like that belongs to Hal Steinbrenner, the managing general partner, who said there was still a huge gulf between what Cano was asking for and what the Yankees were offering.

Photo

The Yankees have offered Robinson Cano a contract in the range of $170 million for seven years.Credit
Barton Silverman/The New York Times

“Look, we’re still talking,” Steinbrenner said. “Nobody is giving up. But, obviously, we are a decent distance apart. We are just going to have to wait and see.”

Steinbrenner, who has been increasingly involved with the Yankees’ off-season operations, said that if Cano were on the verge of agreeing to a deal elsewhere, Steinbrenner would expect Cano’s representatives, including Brodie Van Wagenen and Jay Z, to give the Yankees a last-chance opportunity to match the offer.

“I would hope that given the history, and given that he came up through this organization, that that would be the case,” Steinbrenner said. “These are good guys that’s he’s got. I can’t answer that, only they can, but I would think so and hope so.”

But if the Mariners’ offer is really $50 million more than the Yankees’ proposal, such a call may be only a formality.

The Yankees’ goal is to keep their payroll under the $189 million luxury-tax threshold and still field a competitive team. For now, they remain below that mark, even if they re-sign Cano to the deal they want him to take.

But Steinbrenner conceded that the team needs more offense. Last year the lineup, plagued by injuries, was unproductive, even with Cano’s 27 home runs, 41 doubles and 107 runs batted in. Without him, they would need more help, even with the addition of Ellsbury and McCann.

“We would love to have him,” said Brian Cashman, the Yankees’ general manager. “But when you’re in free agency, just like we took Brian McCann from the Braves and any other suitor because we were willing to pay a certain amount, that can certainly happen to us in the Robbie Cano sweepstakes. That’s the way the process works.”

If Cano left, the Yankees would have the payroll flexibility to go after a pitcher like the Japanese ace Masahiro Tanaka. They could also go after Infante, an infielder who played for the Detroit Tigers last season, or increase their bid to Carlos Beltran.

Steinbrenner said the team still had room to spend within the $189 million framework.

“Right now, we have a decent amount of money to spend, quite frankly, and we’re going to,” he said. “We are going to put it back into the team like we always do.”

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The Yankees have been making it clear to free agents, including Cano, that they will continue to be aggressive in pursuing the players they want. “We want to move sooner than later,” Cashman said, later adding, “We don’t want to mess around.”

But Cashman did not say that money allocated for Cano could go elsewhere if Cano did not agree to a deal quickly, saying that he wanted to avoid “anything inflammatory.”

Cashman also said he was hoping, if not actually expecting, to re-sign Hiroki Kuroda to a one-year deal. Kuroda was the Yankees’ best starter for much of last season, going 11-13 with a 3.31 earned run average and, even more significant, pitching 2011/3 innings.

A version of this article appears in print on December 6, 2013, on Page B11 of the New York edition with the headline: $225 Million? Seattle’s Pursuit of Cano Could Be Too Rich for Yanks. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe